Stop-over in Qatar

---

Flight en route from Manchester to Ho Chi Minh City.

We stayed at the SAS Radisson at Manchester Airport on Saturday evening, avoiding a very early drive from Shropshire. We had a so-so meal with Jen sending her fish back (of course) and middling service that meant free coffee and liquors and some of the cost written of. We'd have rather paid full price for what could have been a perfect dinner...

The Servisair lounge at Manchester couldn't find the paperwork to charge us for Jen's entry so both of us were admitted on the strength if my IoD card. This meant that we could settle down with Saturday's newspapers, Jen could buy accessories for her new iPod and we could have a modest breakfast before our 0915 flight.

The Qatar Airways flight was fine - good pitch between the seats 34"(?) and good service but was marred by the screaming of child whose parents appeared to do very little to try to settle it down. It seemed to be a wilful creation of noise rather than one that might have been provoked by painful ears occasioned by the air pressure. Fitful sleep (ours) went some way to alleviate the misery and one could only hope that the next seven-hour leg to Vietnam will be a little more peaceful.

Doha airport seems fairly bland and is certainly very modern. We decided to invest $25 each in entry to a business lounge which featured lavatories, showers, internet access (hence this blog entry) and a light, but very adequate, buffet. The trick now is to stay awake so that we'll sleep on the flight - small noisy children permitting!

---